GB2209559A

GB2209559A - Safe deposit drawer

Info

Publication number: GB2209559A
Application number: GB8712912A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Stuart Skitt; Michael Hawkins
Original assignee: SMP SECURITY Ltd
Current assignee: SMP SECURITY Ltd
Priority date: 1986-06-11
Filing date: 1987-06-02
Publication date: 1989-05-17
Also published as: GB8614169D0; GB2209559B; GB8712912D0

Abstract

A safe has an opening in a wall (10) thereof and a drawer (13) slidably mounted in a guideway (12) fitted to said opening, said drawer having a hinged floor (17) which drops open when the drawer is in a closed position. A hinged scoop member (18) is hingedly mounted within the safe, said scoop member coacting with the drawer so that when the drawer is closed the scoop member is caused to take up an access blocking position beneath the drawer and when the drawer is open the scoop member can swing to an open position, such that an item to be deposited falls, in use, from the drawer on to the scoop member when the drawer is closed, and then falls from the scoop member when the drawer is next opened. <IMAGE>

Description

SAFE DEPOSIT DRAWER This invention relates to a safe deposit drawer.

It is already known to provide a safe with a deposit drawer by means of which items can be deposited in the safe without opening the main door thereof. A simple deposit drawer has a hinged floor which drops open when the drawer is shut to allow the items to be deposited to fall into the safe.

Although it is a relatively simple matter to ensure that access to the interior of the safe is thoroughly blocked when the drawer is open, there is a risk that a thief will gain access to the interior of the safe by cutting off the front portion of the drawer and then pushing the drawer shut. Such risk can be substantially reduced by designing the safe and drawer so that the passage left by such an action will be long and narrow, but the risk cannot be removed altogether without severely limiting the size of item which can be deposited.

An object of the invention is to provide a safe with a deposit drawer having significantly improved security.

According to the invention, there is provided a hinged scoop member hingedly mounted within the safe which coacts with the drawer so that when the drawer is closed the scoop member is caused to take up an access blocking position beneath the drawer and when the drawer is open the scoop member can swing to an open position, an item to be deposited falling, in use, from the draw on to the scoop member when the drawer is closed and then falling from the scoop member when the drawer is next opened.

An example of a safe deposit drawer construction in accordance with the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic crosssectional view of the drawer construction.

Referring to the drawing a safe having a back wall 10 (i.e. the wall opposite the door of the safe) is installed against a wall 11 of a building. Fitted in the back wall of the safe is a guideway 12 for a deposit drawer 13. This drawer comprises a pair of sidewalls 14, between which front and rear box sections 15, 16 are secured. The front box section 15 may be filled with a drill resistant material such as aloxite nuggets of 12 to l9mm diameter in a cast in-situ aluminium matrix. A hinged floor 17 is mounted to provide a floor for the part of the drawer lying between the front and rear box sections. The floor 17 is pivotally connected to the drawer structure adjacent the front box section 15.

The floor 17 coacts with the guideway 12 so that in the withdrawn position of the drawer shown in full lines in the drawing, the floor is supported by the guideway.

When the drawer is in its closed position the floor 17 hangs vertically as shown in broken lines at 17a.

Mounted on the guideway is a hinged scoop member 18.

This member 18 is pivotally mounted on an axis 19 and has a contact roller arrangement 20, which coacts with the underside of the rear box section 16 of the drawer. With the drawer in the withdrawn position shown, the scoop member 18 is free to hang in the position shown in full lines in the drawing, such that any object on the base 18a of the scoop member will slide off and fall into the interior of the safe. When the drawer is closed the underside of the rear box section 16 engages the roller arrangement 20 and turns the scoop member to the position shown in broken lines.

The drawer 13 is provided with a lock (not shown) for locking it in its closed position.

In use, therefore, a user can open the drawer when he has a package to deposit and place the package on the floor 17. On closing the drawer, the package will drop into the scoop member which has been moved to its access blocking position (shown in broken lines) as the drawer is closed. When the drawer is next withdrawn, the scoop member will swing down and allow the package to drop into the safe.

Any attempt to gain access to the safe by cutting away the drawer, will be foiled by the scoop member 18, which will be raised to its access blocking position when the remaining part of the drawer is closed. The rear box section 16 remains inaccessible when the drawer is opened, so that, provided total removal of the drawer is prevented (and this is a relatively simple matter to achieve by fastening the drawer in position with bolts located inside the safe), access to the interior of the safe is totally blocked.

The construction described above is extremely simple and the mechanism is such that it can be housed in a relatively small space. Thus the opening in the fascia can be kept quite small, thereby assisting in hindering access to the interior of the safe.

Claims

1. A safe having an opening in a wall (10) thereof, a drawer (13) slidably mounted in a guideway (12) fitted to said opening, said drawer having a hinged floor (17) which drops open when the drawer is in a closed position, characterised by a hinged scoop member (18) hingedly mounted within the safe, said scoop member coacting with the drawer so that when the drawer is closed the scoop member is caused to take up an access blocking position beneath the drawer and when the drawer is open the scoop member can swing to an open position, such that an item to be deposited falls, in use, from the drawer on to the scoop member when the drawer is closed, and then falls from the scoop member when the drawer is next opened.

2. A safe as claimed in claim 1 in which the scoop member has a contact roller (20) which coacts with the underside of the drawer to move the scoop member to its access blocking position when the drawer is closed.

3. A safe as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the drawer consists of two spaced box section parts (15, 16) secured to a pair of sidewalls (14).

4. A safe as claimed in claim 3 in which at least one of the box section parts (15) is filled with drill resistant material.